Georgia’s Republican Governor, Brian Kemp, has approved a bill aimed at regulating “rogue” prosecutors in response to heightened attention on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s handling of the case against former President Donald Trump.
The new legislation will empower the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission, which was formed the year before, to independently establish rules without needing approval from the state Supreme Court. During the bill signing event, Governor Kemp addressed the issue of crime and emphasized the necessity of the legislation to guarantee that prosecutors are efficiently carrying out their duties.
“This legislation will help us ensure rogue or incompetent prosecutors are held accountable if they refuse to uphold the law,” Kemp said. “As we know all too well, crime has been on the rise across the country, and especially prevalent in cities where prosecutors are giving criminals a free pass or failing to put them behind bars due to lack of professional conduct.”
“When out of touch prosecutors put politics over public safety, the community suffers, and people and property are put at risk,” he continued. “Today, we are renewing our commitment that we won’t forfeit public safety for prosecutors. They let criminals off the hook. Georgians deserve better, and they deserve to feel safe in their own communities.”
House Speaker Jon Burns, a member of the Republican party, explicitly stated that the legislation did not specifically target Willis or any other individual.
“For us in the House, our focus is not on any one person, not on any one situation,” Burns told reporters. “It’s about asking the folks that are elected, just like me, to do their jobs and protect the citizens of this state.”
The bill shares resemblances with the one enacted in Texas, where the legislature approved it mainly out of fear that prosecutors might not pursue abortion-related cases.
